Norrington Books
by M. Raine
Summary: Pre-Chuck. Ned is happily baking pies early on an august morning, when his routine is interrupted by someone completely new...
1. Introduction  An Early Morning Stranger

**Introduction: An Early Morning Stranger**

"Ding!"

The door to The Pie Hole swung open suddenly at precisely 7:20 a.m. Ned, who had been getting started on the morning pies, jumped in surprise, nearly hitting his head on the roof of the refrigerator. He shook his head slightly, before slowing coming out of the fridge and closing the door.

_Who could be here so early in the morning? _He thought to himself. _Olive doesn't get here till 8:00 and Emerson is probably still sleeping. _Ned shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly made his way out of the kitchen. He poked his head around the corner and quietly observed the first costumer of the day.

At the bar sat a girl with long straight red hair. The girl's eyes were hidden by her bangs hanging in her face. On the table in front of her was an open book that completely captured her attention. She was humming a sweet little tune under her breath.

Awkwardly, Ned left the safety of the kitchen and made his way to the counter in front of her. She appeared to not notice him at all. Ned got an odd feeling like he was sneaking around, which felt weird in his own restaurant. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and grabbed a menu, before releasing a small cough to make the stranger aware of his presence.

"Um… Hi! Uh…Welcome to the Pie Hole…Here's a menu, you know, if you want some pie…" Feeling very weird, Ned placed the menu in front of the girl, who finally looked up from her book. He looked into her eyes and was surprised by how bright of a blue they were. Then her face exploded into a smile, causing the sides of the Pie maker's mouth to twitch as well.

"Thanks!" She said, closing her book and picking up the menu. "I absolutely love pie. I always eat my dessert for breakfast." Ned nodded silently while she scanned the menu. He had been caught off guard by the appearance of something new in his routine, but found himself beginning to like it a little bit. Assuming that the girl was going to take a while to decide what she wanted, Ned turned to go back into the kitchen, when her sweet voice chimed up behind him.

"A slice of apple rhubarb, please." Ned turned around, surprised again. No one ever ordered apple rhubarb. It was one of those weird flavours that one needed an acquired taste for. He'd recently thought of taking it off of the menu, but apparently it had one supporter. "It's my favourite." The girl stated, explaining herself.

"Yeah… Mine too." Ned muttered and he quickly walked toward the kitchen. Before he got there, he heard the girl's cute little giggle at his comment. He couldn't help but smile. He prepared the piece of Apple Rhubarb in record time, because this girl was his only costumer so far. As he was thinking about what to say to her when he handed her the pie, Olive Snook walked through the back door to the kitchen. She was wearing her sweet little green dress and her hair in a cute little bob. She had bought some new perfume for the Pie Maker, but she doubted he would notice; however, this didn't stop her from trying.

"Well, good morning," She said loudly, interrupting Ned's thoughts. "Looks like you've been up baking pie early. Are you always here this early or did someone switch the clocks around on me?" Olive giggled at herself and Ned looked down at the piece of pie in front of him. Now, customers at the Pie Hole generally started coming in at 10:00, so the fact that the Pie Maker was preparing a pie was very curious.

"I don't see why you have to open up so early." She hissed, trying to pretend that she hadn't noticed the pie. She took two seconds to think and then asked, leaning on the counter beside the Pie Maker. "It's not like we get any costumers… Who's that pie for?" Ned, who had been half listening, looked at Olive trying to act like he really had been listening.

"Oh! Um… For a costumer." He said, hoping he didn't sound suspicious or anything.

"You mean like a delivery?" Olive said, unbelieving. She never had anyone come in till after 10. There was absolutely no way that there could be someone there so early in the morning.

"Nope." Ned simply said, picking up the pie and starting to make his way out of the kitchen. Before he left, he grabbed some icing sugar and sprinkled a bit on the top of the pie. Olive noticed this and she frowned. She'd never seen the Pie Maker put anything extra on the top of someone's pie unless it was ice cream by request. Being the nosy friend she was, Olive snuck over to doorway in the restaurant to catch a glimpse of the early bird, hoping that Ned was just pulling her leg.

As she poked her head out the doorway, just as Ned had done earlier, she immediately frowned at the scene she saw before her. The redheaded girl was speaking to Ned about something or other and Ned was standing there smiling. Olive was outraged, for she had tried on numerous occasions to flirt with the Pie Maker, but to no avail. She walked back into the kitchen, brooding over who this strange girl, who was describing the contents of her book to the Pie maker, could possibly be.

"And that's when Sebastian marries Olivia on accident, because Olivia thinks that he is Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise! It's one of my favourite stories, but it's definitely not my favourite play that he wrote." The talkative girl's nickname all throughout high school had been motormouth, for it sometimes seemed like she could talk forever. Ned, who was enraptured by this odd girl's appearance in his shop, simply nodded and watched her skilfully eat pie while talking at the same time. He didn't understand how she could talk so clearly with apple and rhubarb in her mouth.

"Oh! Is that the time?" The redhead had looked at the silver watch on her wrist. "I have to go open up the shop." She grabbed her purse and started to fish out the money for her slice of pie. The Pie Maker composed himself and the smile on his face disappeared again. She had stopped talking and the empty Pie Hole made him remember that no costumers had come in to the shop. He also had a lot of deliveries to bake and had missed his morning head-start because of the distraction.

"Thanks for the pie." The girl said simply. She flashed Ned one more smile and then walked out of the shop quickly, causing the little bell to ring once more. As Ned collected her empty plate and her money, he found himself wondering if she would be back the next day. He hadn't even asked for her name.

The Facts were these: She strange girl who had wandered into the Pie Hole that morning had wanted nothing more than a quiet place to read and a warm slice of Apple Rhubarb pie. Eliza Norrington was 27 years, 10 months and 13 days old when she founded The Norrington Bookstore. She opened up shop right across the street in the old location of Bittersweets. The only thing she loved more than apple rhubarb pie was William Shakespeare.

Fortunately for Ned, the odd girl did come back the next day. At the exact same time and she ordered the exact same pie. He began his morning normally, not expecting her again, yet he found another surprise in his morning as well.


	2. The Pie Maker's Second Encounter

**Chapter 1: The Pie Maker's Second Encounter**

Ned was preparing the girl's piece of pie when he heard Olive come in the kitchen. He looked up at the clock and saw that it was only 7:40 a.m. Olive never came in early.

"Good morning, Ned." She said confidently hanging up her coat on the hook. She rushed over to his side and looked up at him. "I thought that you were lonely in the mornings, so I thought I'd come in just a little earlier to keep you company while you bake those pies."

But what Olive didn't realize is that the Pie Maker enjoyed his mornings to get away from Olive and Emmerson; from anyone that would interrupt his routine. Strangely enough, this new girl who had entered into the picture didn't make him uncomfortable. She almost made the morning more exciting.

"That's okay, Olive." He said, not looking back at her. "There's a customer here, so I'm not alone." With those words he took the piece of apple rhubarb into the restaurant for their guest. Shocked, Olive walked out to see the girl from yesterday sitting in a booth by herself, with a book in front of her and now a piece of pie. To Olive's relief, Ned didn't wait around to talk to her, but he made his way back to the kitchen again.

"So, who's the mystery girl?" Olive said, nagging Ned when we walked back into the kitchen. He went back to the counter and started to cut and prepare some apples for filling his pies. He wasn't ignoring Olive on purpose, but he had been unfortunately distracted by thoughts of which Shakespeare plays he had read.

Olive left the kitchen with her unanswered question. Her heart was hurting from the Pie Maker's lack of attention and decided that she should distract herself. She had been in love with the Pie Maker for many years, but the man she loved never returned her affections. She found that he was quiet and unresponsive usually, but this morning he was suspiciously chipper. Still feeling hurt, Olive approached the early costumer and asked her what she would like to drink.

"Hmm…" The girl was so entrapped in her book; it took her a moment to look up from what she'd been doing. Olive rolled her eyes and tried hard not to let out a huge sigh. Once she was face to face with this strange customer, Olive finally saw how pretty she was. Olive wasn't prepared for that mounting jealousy that she felt.

"I said," Olive continued, rudely. "Would like something to drink with your… pie…" Then Olive forced a smile, trying to be as polite as possible. The pen Olive was holding in her hand was starting to break under the strain of her strong fingers.

"Right… I'd love a hot chocolate, actually. Thank you so much." Once she was done speaking, the girl went back to her reading again, blocking Olive out of her world. Olive walked away in a huffed state, making her way to the hot chocolate machine sneering at the new girl.

Meanwhile, Ned in the kitchen was thinking about what to say to the girl when they spoke next. How would he introduce himself? What would be a good topic to chat about? He even thought about asking Olive for her advice and that was when he realized that she was no longer in the kitchen. After putting the apple filling in the refrigerator, Ned started to make some more pie dough. He heard the clicking of shoes as Olive re-entered the kitchen, but he'd forgotten what he'd wanted to ask her in the first place. Ned even started humming a tune under his breath.

"Olive," He said suddenly, catching the poor waitress off guard. She was immediately attentive to every word that Ned had to say.

"Yes, Ned." She said, hopefully. She thought that he was going to thank her for being so dedicated and coming in early. That he was going to say how much he cared for her and how the restaurant wouldn't be the same without her there. She heard him confessing his undying love for her and telling her how he'd been waiting his whole life to find someone like her.

"What do you say to someone when you want to meet them?" He said, looking into the restaurant and watching their early customer. "I mean, how would one, I don't know, introduce themselves to someone that they'd never really met before, without looking completely crazy?"

"I don't know." Olive grunted, feeling foolish. "Just walk up to them and say hi, I guess…" With an angry strut, she walked right out of the kitchen leaving Ned alone with his thoughts.

Ned was surprised by Olive's sudden outburst. He hadn't seen what he'd said that was wrong. Maybe he should ask Olive to come in later, when she wasn't so grumpy. He started to knead the dough in front of him, thinking about all of the questions he wanted to ask the mystery girl. He could hear her little giggle in the back of his head. Then, Ned took a moment to think about what was happening to him. How could he be so attached to this strange girl that he didn't know anything about? He tried to stop thinking about the sound of her musical laughter, but he found that it wouldn't leave him alone now that it was trapped in his head.

Suddenly, Ned heard the "Ding!" of the restaurant's bell. With his hands covered in flour, he walked to the entrance to the restaurant. Olive was cleaning up the plate by the booth and a dirty hot chocolate mug.

"Where did she go?" He said, bewildered by her disappearance. Olive looked at him and smiled, although the Pie Maker sensed that there was something insincere about it.

"I don't know. She said that she had to get going, and just left her money on the table." Olive hadn't forced her out of the restaurant or anything suspicious, but she found it hard to hide her joy that the Pie Maker and she had some time to themselves. "Looks like it's just you and me, Ned. We have the whole restaurant to ourselves."

As Olive approached Ned, he quickly shoved his flour covered hands into his apron and rushed back into the kitchen. She started to follow him, while Ned quickly thought of an unawkward way to change the subject to pie. Fortunately, just as he got there was another ding at the door.

Emerson Cod strolled into the Pie Hole with his usually swagger. Olive turned around and let out a huge sigh, as though she's been hoping that it would be anyone else. He smirked at her and sat down in the booth that had been previously occupied by the mystery girl. Returning the kitchen, Olive told the Pie Maker of Emerson Cod's presence in the Pie Hole. Ned proceeded to go out and sit down across from his favourite private investigator.

"You're here rather early today." He said, watching as Emerson yawned loudly. "I generally don't expect you until after twelve o'clock." The P.I. shifted in his seat and Ned watched his eyes glaze over.

"I haven't even had my morning coffee yet." Emerson yawned again, bigger and louder this time. "But I woke up this morning to a phone call." Ned never particularly liked his outings with Emerson; although touching dead things and bringing them back to life was his specialty, he didn't enjoy doing it.

"Murder, I suppose?" The Pie Maker said, wishing that it was a Missing Person's case. Unfortunately for the Pie Maker, he was wrong.

The Facts were these: Anthony Sparks was the well known author of the New York Times best-selling book award winning novel called, _A Morning Away from Happiness_. His book told his entire life story of all of the mornings that he had experienced and how waking up early had made all of the good things in his life happen. Anthony Sparks was exactly 30 years, 3 months, 12 days, 22 hours, and 6 minutes old when he was murdered inside Sparks Book Emporium after 20 meter high pile of his own award winning book was pushed and crushed him.

At the morgue, Emerson and Ned made their way into where Anthony's body was being kept. After receiving the usual suspicious glares from the man behind the desk, they wandered into the morgue, with Ned's magic hands kept firmly behind his back.

The body that they saw, once Emerson had pulled the cover off, was the remains of a man who's face had his own name imprinted on it forehead. The rest of his body was completely crushed, but fortunately for Emerson Cod, the mouth was completely intact. Ned looked back at Emerson, took a deep breath, set his watch for one minute and quickly touched the dead body. Anthony tried to sit up at first but then when he found his spine was crushed he mumbled the words:

"Where am I?" The Pie Maker decided to by entire blunt with the man, they only had one minute, or 51 seconds, left.

"You're dead." He blurted, hearing Emerson sigh with impatience behind him. Anthony's eyes that was less squished than the other widened slightly.

"What? Dead? Damn it! I can't believe that I was killed in the morning." Out of the things to be concerned about, the Pie Maker found this one to be the most odd. "This is really going to make the sales of my book go completely down. I can't claim that all the happy things in my life happened when I died in the morning."

"Excuse me, but you only have one minute for justice." Ned didn't like interrupting, but something told him that this man was a babbler. Just like that cute girl from the Pie Hole. He quickly got back to the questioning. "We just need you to tell us who killed you."

"Well, let me see. My head is a little woozy. It kind of feels like I got hit in the head with something." A chuckle escaped from Emerson, but luckily the dead man chose to ignore it. "I was in the bookstore, getting ready for my early morning book signing when I heard someone behind me."

"Yeah yeah, skip to the end." Letting is impatience finally show, Emerson Cod let go of his happy feelings. "Did you see who did it?" Ned glanced nervously down at his watch. There was only 10 seconds remaining and he knew he'd have to put an abrupt end to the conversation soon enough.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it. There is no way…but I know that I saw… it was my beloved E-" With a small touch on the hand and a little zap the author Anthony Sparks went back to being dead.

Ned avoided the gaze of an unsatisfied Emerson Cod as they made their way to his car. He knew that Emerson was capable of completing the job, knowing the first letter of the girlfriend's name. He could find the killer with only an "E" to go off of.

"Why only a minute?" A frustrated Emerson Cod said, as he climbed back into his car with the Pie Maker. Ned, felt a lot better now that the whole deal was done and he was going back home to the Pie Hole.

"Because that's just the way it works." He said and listening as Emerson scoffed

"Well, at least we know it was the girlfriend, that makes my job a hell of a lot easier."


	3. The Absence of Books

**Chapter 2 – Absence of Books**

Even though the Pie Maker lost a second opportunity to speak to the girl who brought in a new book every day, he was graced with her presence for a total of six days. Unfortunately, due to the curious meddling ways of one Olive Snook, the Pie Maker lost six more chances to get the girl's name and make her acquaintance. He had been finding himself with an abnormal amount of morning deliveries and orders to make. He also noticed that Olive's morning service had been very quick and once he'd even thought he saw Olive pushing the girl out the door.

Finally on the seventh day, the mystery girl made no appearance, much to the Pie Maker's dismay. He wasn't sure whether to blame work or Olive. He got to the Pie Hole at his usual time, 7:00 a.m. As he was unlocking the back door to the restaurant as voice behind him made him jump.

"Mornin, Boss." Olive Snook had never been to work so early in her life. For the past six days she'd been getting there after than mystery girl and was so desperate to keep the pie maker from her. She knew that desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Olive?" Ned sighed, putting his face in his hand. Even though the stranger had been coming in so early at least he had 20 minutes to himself to get started on pies. "Why are you here so early? You know that I don't need you here till 8." He walked into the kitchen, hanging his coat up on the hook, while Digby took his usual spot on the floor.

"Well, I actually have been reading this new book." Olive slipped out of her coat as well and watched with a smile as the Pie Maker put on his apron. "It's called _A Morning Away From Happiness_. It says that all of the happy things happen to you in to morning, so I've been waking up early to achieve greater happiness."

"That's great, Olive." The Pie Maker pulled some fruit from the storage room. "But why do you need to come here so early? Why not go for an early morning walk, or find some cute coffee shop to sit in? You could always read a book." With his words, Ned found himself thinking about the mystery girl, praying that she would come again.

The Pie Maker listened as Olive continued to tell him all about her book, but he was just letting the time pass until 7:20 crept along. In the very second that the clock struck 7:20 Ned closed his eyes in hopes of hearing that light ding. Olive Snook, who had noticed the look of bliss on the Pie Maker's face, dreaded the coming sound. They both sat in silence for one moment, waiting for the door to open… But nothing happened.

By some train of events, the mystery girl had found herself unable to come into the Pie Hole that morning. Devastated, Ned gasped as the clock hit 7:21 and still nothing happened. As Ned made his way into the restaurant to see why she had been absent, Olive tried to hide her small smile. She thought that she had been the one to drive the redhead away and she relished in the fact that she had been the girls undoing.

Standing looking out the window, the Pie Maker watching in sorrow as people walked up and down the street. The girl was nowhere in sight. Had he missed his chance at talking to her? Would she never come into the Pie Hole again? Ned had loved her entering his routine and knew he would miss her if she didn't come back.

"She's not coming…" He said, outloud, as though confirming the subject that he hoped to be untrue. He felt a hand creep around his shoulders and he knew it was Olive. He immediately felt his shoulders tense as he turned around to find her much closer to him than he'd anticipated. As he tried to say something Olive pulled him in to an awkward hug that Ned didn't find comforting in the slightest. He kept his hands behind his back as he pulled away and walked back into the kitchen, disappointedly getting to work on those pies.

The day continued on much like any normal day in the Pie Hole, but the absence of the mystery girl started to make the Pie Maker sad and rather distant. Olive Snook served the customers normally, but she felt the Pie Maker's sadness and began to feel the guilt of keeping him from the mystery girl. After lunchtime, the Pie Maker decided to take a little break. He grabbed his coat from the hanger and put some gloves on. Then he called Digby to his side, put him on a leash and started to open the door.

"Ned?" Olive crept into the kitchen, meaning to explain herself and her poor attitude to the mysterious redheaded girl who had wandered into the Pie Hole as 7:20 in the morning only six days ago.

"I'm taking Digby for a walk." Ned said, dejectedly. "Hold down the fort till I get back, Olive. I won't be very long" And with that the Pie Maker was gone out the back door. Olive sighed and said the one thing that had been on her mind all morning.

"I'm sorry."


	4. Raining Books

**Chapter 3 – Raining Books**

While Ned paced the streets he found that he wasn't full of anger, but more confusion. He was sad that the girl hadn't appeared that morning, but he couldn't understand why it had been affecting him so much. He'd barely spoken the girl except for the occasional "More apple rhubarb?" All he knew was that he hadn't felt this way in a long time, probably not since his childhood sweetheart Chuck.

Suddenly Digby started to bark causing Ned to stop walking and see what was going on. He looked up towards the sky and a drop of water hit him squarely on the nose. Out of nowhere, the rain started to fall heavily. The Pie Maker made a mad dash for some cover, after realizing that he'd forgotten his umbrella, but he collided with something hard.

"Oof! Hey!" Ned fell to the ground, letting go of Digby's lease. He watched as books seemed to fall all around him and another person fell down on top of him. Taking a quick breath he started to apologize, but when he looked up he found himself looking into the beautiful blue eyes of the mystery girl. She was practically lying on top of him and Ned thought he saw her recognize him too.

"I am so sorry." Ned finally spat out and the girl quickly got up, blushing profusely. She took a glance at Ned and was about to say something, before her eyes strayed to the ground. A worried look found its way onto her face as she reached down and started to pick the books she'd been carrying out of the puddle at their feet.

"Oh no," She said, almost whispering. Ned was surprised to find that her worried voice even sound melodious. "My books are getting soaked; can you help me with these?" Ned was immediately on his hands and knees, getting his pants drenched, while he helped the girl with the huge stack of books she was trying to carry. Once the two of them had all of the books off the ground Ned grabbed Digby's leash and awkwardly waited for the girl to say something.

"Thanks. Um…Do you mind just helping me get these out of the rain?" The girl said with a pleading look on her face. Ned nodded right away. "My store is just over there…Oh…Um my name is Eliza." The Pie Maker felt a smile creep onto his face as he rushed out of the rain and into the cover of Eliza's store. Before he walked in Ned saw the hanging sign above him that read "Norrington Books: New and Used"

The first thing that he noticed when he walked in was that Norrington Books had its walls entirely cover with…well books. There were three floors that went up, each one connected with a spiral staircase. In the center of the store were a bunch of new books and there was a sign in the back that said "Old". As the Pie Maker walked in, he found himself overwhelmed with the smell of books, which he'd never really noticed before. The girl placed the wet books on the front desk and Ned did the same. Then he saw a small pile of Pie recipe books, which made him smile.

"I'm Ned; by the way, I run the Pie Hole right across the street." He was looking at the books on the desk when he smiled, recognizing one of them. It was one of the books that his mother used to have. While Eliza was busying herself with laying all the wet books out on the floor to dry, he opened up the cover of one of them and noticed that Eliza's mother had given it to her.

"Oh yeah. I was just about to ask about that." The redhead's face was turned away from him. She sounded distant. "I knew I'd seen you somewhere before. You're apple rhubarb pies are exactly like the ones my mother used to make for me. They're incredibly delicious." Ned found that there were a number of colourful bookmarks. He opened up to a blue bookmark and found the recipe for blueberry pie. He thought the colour coding was clever.

"Nice books. Do you like baking Pie too?" He was comparing the difference between her recipe and his when a pair of pale hands swiftly closed the book. Ned looked up suddenly and saw Eliza grabbing the pie books and putting them into her desk. She was blushing and stuttering. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away, feeling a little guilty for snooping; but also enjoying her embarrassment.

"What? Oh those…no…well… they're just some light, um, reading." She leaned on the desk, putting her face in her hands, smiling up at him. The Pie Maker tried hard not to chuckle. "Nothing important about them really… So this is your dog?"

"Yeah, yeah, Digby." Ned, who was still wearing his gloves, scratched his childhood friend behind the ears. "Don't worry he's really friendly." Eliza, calming down from her scare, walked around the desk and she started petting him with her noticeably delicate hands.

"I love animals." She looked up at the Pie Maker, who was struck once more by her bright eyes. She quickly looked away, as though she was embarrassed again. Then Eliza changed the subject. "You should see all the fish up in my apartment, they are my life."

"You like fish?" Ned said, struck by what an odd pet choice that was. He thought it was really cool that she loved fish. He wouldn't have to worry about bringing a fish back to life, he wouldn't be able to touch it through the glass anyways.

"Yeah, I have lots of saltwater fish." Eliza whispered, looking away from him. Ned wondered if this was a secret that she didn't tell very many people.m"They are what keep me going." The bookstore owner stood up from Digby and found herself very close to the Pie Maker. Ned noticed this as well and found that he could feel warmth coming from the bookworm's body. He wanted to lean in close, but stupidly he glanced at his watch.

"Oh, Um…I need to get back to help Olive at the restaurant." He stepped over the books on the floor and quickly grabbed Digby's leash up off the floor. As he made his way to the door, he suddenly felt guilty about just leaving her there and wanted to turn around to say a goodbye or something. When he looked back he saw that Eliza was gone. He frowned and was about to open the door, when he heard Eliza's voice from the back room.

"Wait, Ned!" She came out of the room, almost running. She was holding a bright purple umbrella. "I thought you might want some shelter from the rain. Oh…and um… I'll hopefully see you at the Pie Hole tomorrow morning?" Ned felt like his heart exploded with joy. He smiled, taking the umbrella from her and giving her his thanks.

"Eliza." Ned said, looking back one more time. The bookworm was still watching him, her face glowing. "If you want to stop by the Pie Hole later on then I can show you how I bake my apple-rhubarb pie."

"I'd really like that." With those words and a warm heart, the Pie Maker walked out into the rain, humming a happy tune under his breath.


	5. Infringing on Snook Territory

**Chapter 4 – Infringing on Snook Territory**

"Excuse me," Olive Snook, brooding in her own jealousy, barely heard the poor customer trying to get her attention. She was sitting at the bar in the Pie Hole staring towards the window, where the Pie Maker and Eliza were sitting. Olive was grinding her teeth in anger, wishing that it was she who was sitting with the Pie Maker.

"Miss, Could I please get a refill?" A persistent customer had been waiting patiently for over five minutes. He sat back and Olive finally came to her senses. She smiled at the customer and brought the coffee pot over.

It had been two days since that mystery girl became Eliza. Olive had officially met her that very same morning, when the Pie Maker introduced them with a smile on his face. Olive was furious that she had been unable to keep the two apart. She'd even heard Ned talking about giving Eliza a baking lesson that night. He'd never asked Olive to bake pies with him, why was he asking a complete stranger?

Meanwhile on the other side of the restaurant, the Pie Maker was smiling across the table from the pretty redhead, Eliza. He'd started to almost neglect his pie making just to talk to her for longer. He'd discovered that she opened up her shop at 9:00 which is why she would always leave in the mornings. Luckily for him, it was her day off.

"So I was trying to think about what kinds of pie I want to make tonight." Eliza said sweetly. She had a small twinkle in her eyes and Ned knew that she was looking forward to their baking lesson as much as he was. She had been reading a recipe book when she walked into the Pie Hole.

"Um… Well, we can make any kind you want, or we can make multiple pies." He took a sip of his coffee, while Eliza stared off into the distance. The day outside was a lot sunnier than it had been when they had "met". Ned noticed that she had seemed almost distracted, but he was unsure about asking her about it, thinking it might be too forward.

"So why do you come in with a different book everyday?" Ned asked, he'd been wondering ever since Eliza had wandered into the Pie Hole that fateful morning. "Are you a super fast reader or something?"

"Oh, no. I just like to learn a little bit of everything at the same time." Ned had noticed that Eliza always blushed when she talked about herself. It was almost as if she was a little bit embarrassed about the things she did. Ned found her habits all very interesting. "Eventually I finish each book, but I read a different one everyday so that I don't get bored of one. I also find that there are so many things I want to know right away. I know it's weird, but I find it more exciting than reading the same book for two weeks." She closed the Pie recipe book in front of her sheepishly.

"That's…interesting." Ned smiled. He thought it was great the way she could spill something about herself so easily. Ned himself found it hard to tell other people about himself. He was always a little afraid to open up to others.

"You think it's really strange, don't you?" Eliza suddenly frowned, doubting Ned's smile and assuming that he was laughing at her odd habits. The Pie Maker back peddled and quickly reassured her.

"No, no. I like that about you." The smile that exploded onto Eliza's face was so bright Ned turned away. He found himself really enjoying this girl's company. He was still thinking about how scared he'd been to talk to her in the first place. She was so friendly that he simply laughed at himself for it.

"Really?" She seemed relieved and even a little touched that Ned had said he liked something about her. Her pale hands picked up her hot chocolate and she took a small sip, never taking her eyes off of Ned.

"Yeah," Olive, who had just wandered near enough to hear "I like that about you" was now eavesdropping on the couple in the booth. She hoped that Ned would notice her, but to her dismay he was much too preoccupied with Eliza.

"Well what about you, Ned. Got any cool talents?" Eliza said placing her mug back on the table and keeps her hands placed around the outside of the mug. Her eyes seemed to be probing Ned's face for his answer.

"Me?" _Why yes, actually. I have the ability to wake the dead._ "No… I just make pies. That's my life in a nutshell." He lied. Ned found himself almost wishing he could tell her the truth, considering how honest that she had been with him. However, he was so afraid that she would reject him because of his strange ability and he didn't want that.

"That's not entirely true, Ned." Olive's high pitched voice popped in out of nowhere. Ned, surprised, turned around to see Olive standing at their booth with a coffee pot in her hand and a bright almost malicious smile on her face.

"Olive?" Ned hadn't even thought about the waitress overhearing their conversation. He wondered what he could have possibly not told Eliza that he had been willing to tell Olive. He had been quite careful to keep his secrets from Olive, knowing that she probably wouldn't believe most of them if he did tell her.

"C'mon Ned." Olive said, with a tricky smile on her face. Ned was afraid of what would come out of her mouth next. "You didn't tell her anything about the work that you and Emerson do together." The Pie Maker breathed a sigh of relief. He was thankful that Olive only mentioned Emerson.

"Who's Emerson?" Ned felt his heart jump into his throat. He'd never really had to explain his relationship with Emerson to anyone before. They weren't formal enough to be co-workers, because Emerson knew his greatest secret, but he didn't think Emerson liked him enough to be friends. He struggled for a moment, while the girl across the table waited patiently for the answer.

Olive, on the other hand, liked watching the Pie Maker squirm. She felt like it was indeed time for some revenge after he had ignored her for the past five days. She leaned into one hip and put the coffee down on the table, not seeing the customer in the booth next to them trying to get her attention.

"Oh, just a…acquaintance of mine." Ned finally sputtered out. "He's a private investigator and sometimes I help him with cases on the side." Once he had said those words, Ned wondered about how weird they might sound. Just as he was thinking that, he listened to Eliza voice the exact same thing.

"Really? What does a pie maker know about private investigating?" She curious leaned in, putting one of her elbows on top of her pie book. She took the next sip of hot chocolate slowly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Well…Um… it had nothing to do with pie so much." The Pie Maker said, trying to back peddle. He really hoped that this didn't make him sound odd. He wished that he could just tell her his secret and be done with it, but he knew that she wasn't trustworthy quite yet. "It's just a…Um… hobby, I guess."

"That's cool…" Eliza smiled sweetly as she put her hot chocolate back on the table. Olive look perplexed as the girl didn't seem upset about Ned's distance. It was almost as though she found it enticing. Olive was about to pick up the coffee pot and walk away when Ned continued to talk.

"You think it's really strange, don't you?" The Pie Maker sheepishly looked down at the table, where his hands were located in front of him. He started to twiddle his thumbs out of nervous habit.

"No, I like that about you." Eliza reached over and put one her hands on top of Ned's. The Pie Maker, who wasn't used to physical touch, was surprised as first. For a moment, Olive thought that Ned would pull away and the offended girl would leave the restaurant and not come back. Yet, Ned stopped moving his thumbs and simply looked up into the girl's blue eyes with an unsure smile. "I asked if you had any hobbies." Eliza said and then moved her hand away and back to her hot chocolate; she seemed a little embarrassed.

Finally noticing the other customers, Olive walked away, disappointed that her interjection hadn't disrupted their moment. She couldn't believe that the Pie Maker was so into this strange girl that he barely knew. What was it that he didn't like about Olive? What had she done to make him want to avoid her all the time? Having refilled everyone else's coffee, Olive retreated back to the bar, to watch the couple until that strange girl left.

Eventually, after a sweet goodbye and "I'll see you later!" to the Pie Maker, Eliza left the Pie Hole and swiftly made her way across the street into her Bookstore. Ned watched her go through the window, getting up slowly and grabbing her pie plate and hot chocolate mug. He took it into the kitchen and softly placed them in the sink for Olive to do later.

"Turns out finding a girlfriend is a lot harder than one would think." Emerson's voice surprised Ned as he turned around swiftly, the smile on his face quickly fading. He had not expected Emerson back with another case so soon.

"Um… Really?" Ned stuttered a little. He'd almost forgotten about Emerson and the author whose own books had fallen on top of him. "So I'm guessing that girlfriend is safely behind bars where she can't push anymore books on top innocent authors?" Emerson smirked and the Pie Maker made his way around the counter to make some more Triple Berry pies.

"Nope and as it turns out, she's his ex-girlfriend." He leaned on the other side of the counter and opened a folder on that same ex-girlfriend. Ned found it hard to believe that it had taken Emerson so long to get back to him. "They broke up a month ago, right when Anthony announced that he was moving to Asia to continue work on the sequel to his book." The Pie Maker nodded, still listening, but his mind was also full of his blissful afternoon with one Eliza. He hoped that Emerson wouldn't take to long in explaining the case to him. He didn't want to be forced to kick the P.I. out when Eliza came back to bake pies.

"Her name is Eliza Norrington." The Pie Maker dropped the knife that he had been holding and it fell down onto the counter with a clatter. "And she actually owns a bookstore that's right across the street from here. I'm guessing from the stunned silence that you've met her before?" The Pie Maker didn't want to tell Emerson Cod about his relations with the mysterious morning girl, in the hopes that he had heard the name incorrectly. Then he decided that Norrington wasn't a very popular name, so he should probably tell him.

"Yeah, we…Um… Met yesterday..." Emerson Cod raised an eyebrow at the Pie Maker's discomfort. "And she's actually coming over tonight to bake some pies."

The facts were these: Anthony and Eliza had met at an early morning book seminar in California. She had been working there in the book emporium that had hosted the seminar. Anthony had asked her where they kept the books on saltwater fish and this sparked their first presentation. While they were both in California they had the time of their lives, but once Anthony announced he was moving to Asia, Eliza left him to open her own bookshop. Rumours were spread that Anthony was still devoted to Eliza even after he left that he had spent an entire month trying to find her. He had been in the right town, but unfortunately, death had found him first.

"Tonight?" Emerson said with curiosity. He smirked as though he had got an idea. Ned, kneaded the dough in front of him thinking about Eliza and her connection to the murdered author. She was so sweet; but the Pie Maker knew that you couldn't judge someone from only a few conversations. He frowned, while he thought about what he was going to say to her when she showed up. _Hey, you didn't happen to kill your ex-boyfriend with a pile of books, did you?_

"Well apparently this book girl gets all of Anthony's money and belongings. I guess the Sparks owns part of an electric company, so she's actually getting a hefty load of money." Ned was listening to this and realized that Emerson had found a motive for Eliza's involvement in the murder. He decided that he knew she had been too good to be true; there was something about her.

"You know," Emerson said slyly, shaking the Pie Maker from his unhappy thoughts. "You could always question her while she's over here tonight. You know, ask her for a couple of questions, like where she was on the morning of -"

"No." Was the Pie Maker's simple reply. "I don't think that I can do that. Actually, as a matter of fact I should probably call her and cancel. I can't go on a date with a killer." Emerson sighed. Ned made his way to the refrigerator to grab some pie filling, but Emerson stopped him.

"This night will just make my job a hell of a lot easier. Besides, if she kind of likes you, she'll probably be more likely to tell you what really happened." Ned tried to protest again, but there came a soft knock from the front door of the Pie Hole. As he looked out of the kitchen he saw the sweet redheaded girl peering in the window.


	6. First Date Jitters, I Guess

Author's Notes:_ Hey guys. I had planned to work on this over the Christmas holidays, but my plan definitely didn't work out. Hope you're all enjoying the story! My workload just got crazy, but I'll try to keep things going. Enjoy this chapter and please review!_

**Chapter 5 – First Date Jitters **

As Eliza stood outside the Pie Hole she pondered the wonderful change of fate that had brought the Pie Maker into her life. Only a week ago she'd innocently walked into the Pie Hole just looking for somewhere to enjoy her book and found her own little piece of heaven. Having only moved into the neighbourhood recently, Eliza had been more than happy to add something new to her life and that included making her morning dessert a delicious apple rhubarb pie. She went to the Pie Hole for about a week and had then intended to try the other bakeries around town. Then she ran into the Pie Maker on the street and decided that breakfast at the Pie Hole wasn't only because of the tasty pies. Having accepted the Pie Maker's proposal of a baking lessen, which Eliza was in a dire need of, she couldn't have been more excited about the night that lay ahead of her.

"Ned?" Eliza tapped on the window again, waiting to see his face appear in the window. She had her mother's recipe book under arm and had even brought some dog biscuits for Digby. Finally, the Pie Maker's oddly nervous face appeared with a weak smile. Eliza smile back, assuming that Ned was just nervous about the baking and she didn't think anything else about it.

"Hey…Eliza…" He opened the door and Eliza shuffled her way in. It was weird for her to be inside the Pie Hole while it was closed. The only lights on were in the kitchen where she knew their pie making endeavours awaited her.

"I brought my book with me…although you probably know the recipe by heart." The Pie Maker had wandered into the kitchen and Eliza was following close behind him. She already had her book open and was looking at where to begin. "I mean you do make pies all day."

"Um…yeah…well…that was thoughtful of you then." He seemed unnecessarily nervous and Eliza finally started to catch on that something was up. She thought it might just be a Ned thing and decided to ignore it for the time being.

"All right… So how do we start?" She slammed her book on the table, unintentionally making Ned jump. She shot him an apologetic glance, but he wouldn't look her in the eyes. Eliza started to feel the Pie Maker's coldness, yet she continued to push though. "I don't think I've ever really made a pie before."

"Never?" Ned finally looked at her with those words. It was as though he wanted to jump into conversation again like he had that morning, but something was stopping him. Eliza decided that maybe she should try to find out what that was. "Um… I mean… well, we start with the crust, don't we? I mean, yes. Yes we do; we start with the crust." Ned fiddled around awkwardly looking for the dough ingredients, trying his hardest not to look at the bright eyed redhead who was constantly watching.

"Are you okay?" Eliza said, hoping that he wouldn't think it was weird. She took a couple steps towards the Pie Maker, wanting to reach out and touch him. Then she decided that considering how jumpy he was that it might not be the best idea while he was holding something.

"Of course I'm okay." Ned gulped, feeling like he was in too deep. His voice was starting to squeak while he talked. "Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm fine…"

"You just seem a little different then you did this morning." Eliza observed as she grabbed the flour from Ned's arms and put it onto the counter. The Pie Maker followed suit and put the rest of the ingredients on the counter, before going to grab a couple more. "More nervous I suppose. It might just be my imagination."

"You know, that's probably what it is." Ned had bitten off more than he could chew, his arms were full of food and he almost slipped on the floor spilling them everywhere. "I feel completely…Whoops!" Eliza darted forwards and grabbed some things from him, making it easier for him to balance.

"Oh here, let me help you with that." She smiled sweetly, taking notice that Ned almost smiled back. After she placed her food on the counter she went back to him and grabbed the last thing from his hands, leaving little space between them. She looked up at the Pie Maker, who appeared to be sweating. _Could it just be nerves?_ She thought briefly before Ned grabbed the food from her again and put the final ingredient down.

"No, no… It's fine, I got it." She took a few steps back, appalled at her treatment. What had she possibly done? She walked around the other side of the counter and tried to look the Pie Maker in the eye. He kept avoiding her gaze and Eliza finally started to get a little ticked off. She put both her hands on the table and her fact got a little flushed.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" The Pie Maker looked up at her for a moment, but quickly looked away as though it was painful for him. "Ned, you're looking at me like I murdered someone or something." She noticed his eyes widened and he muttered something before staggering back and hiding his head on the refrigerator. He rubbed his head and made his way back to the counter. He decided that he needed to just get it out.

"Have you ever heard of Anthony Sparks?" He said randomly, changing the subject. Eliza tried to keep her jaw from dropping as the Pie Maker tried to be oblivious.

Meanwhile, outside in Emerson Cod's car, the Private investigator was banging his head on the dashboard. After his brief discussion with the Pie Maker about the victim's absent ex-girlfriend he had been just as shocked as the Pie Maker to see her face appear at the window. With one look, he knew that he'd enlisted Ned's investigative services by telling him the girl's secret. Before swiftly making his was out the back door, Emerson had thrown Ned a little microphone in the shape of a button. Now he was regretting the decision.

"Why would I send a Pie Maker to do a Private Investigator's job?" He said out loud, thinking that maybe it would make more sense that way; it didn't. Emerson had had high hopes for the Pie Maker's interrogation skills, but wasn't surprised by his stuttering questions and awkward pauses. He was thinking about marching into the Pie Hole and questioning her himself when he nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Doin' some investigating?" Olive Snook opened the passenger car door and plunked herself down in the seat. Emerson Cod did a double take, trying to understand the blonde's presence in the car.

"What the hell are you doin'?" He took his headphones off and hung them around his neck, while Olive gave him a hurt expression. "I'm trying to work here."

"I was just takin' a walk and thought I'd pop in and see what the scoop is." She lied. Olive had really been lurking outside the pie hole to see how the date between Eliza and Ned was going. To her enjoyment Ned had seemed nervous, but once she noticed Emerson's car she wondered if the plot was thicker than she had originally thought.

"Well the scoop is a failed investigation. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go interrupt something." Emerson was about to get out of the car when Olive popped out another question.

"Investigation?" She asked her heart swelling. Maybe this strange book girl wasn't as sweet as she seemed. "I thought that Ned was on a date." Emerson left the car, making Olive get out and start to follow him.

"He was… Until his date turned out to be a suspect." Emerson walked away, in the direction of the Pie Hole. Olive smiled evilly and skipped after him. She could feel her heart growing and hope was rediscovered. They both started to make their way around to the back of the restaurant, when they heard a door slam.

"Eliza?" They heard Ned's voice coming from the entrance to the Pie Hole. It made Olive's heart melt, hearing the man she loved in pain. The bolted into the alley and both peeked around the corner to watch the situation. Ned had been following Eliza, who had left the Pie Hole in tears. The pretty redhead was halfway across the street when she turned around to face the Pie Maker, wiping away some of her tears.

"I didn't kill Anthony… I had nothing to do with him." Ned had a look of distress on his face and Emerson knew that the interview hadn't gone well. He would have to get his own interview and he knew that he couldn't bring the Pie Maker along. "And if I had known that you'd be doing some private detective work then I would have made my pie at home with my fish. Drop my mother's book off at the store tomorrow, Lenny should be working and he'll get it to me. Goodnight Ned… And goodnight Olive!" After looking at the two witnesses in the alley, Eliza walked across the street and into her bookstore. Ned looked at the others for two seconds before retreating dejectedly into the restaurant.

When Olive and Emerson finally made it into the Pie Hole they found the Pie Maker in the kitchen. Olive knew that he was stress baking and decided that this was her moment to comfort him in his time of need. Emerson knew that he needed to know what the girl had said, whether Ned was stress baking or not.

"She didn't do it." He said, while sliding a raspberry pie into the oven. Olive sat on the counter, licking some pie filling off of her fingers. Emerson stood near the door with his hands across his chest. He wasn't convinced that the girl was innocent at all.

"How can you be sure?" Emerson said suspiciously. The Pie Maker pulled out his rolling pin and began to roll out another piece of pie dough.

"As soon as I asked her about him… she started to cry." Ned shrugged his shoulders, pretending that he wasn't upset about her leaving. But he felt like he had completely let his assumptions ruin what could have been the first good date he'd had in a while. "It's obviously that she really loved him. She didn't even know that he'd left the money for her until after he died. Ugh… I feel like such a jerk." He pulled out another pie tin and after placing the crust in it; he started to fill it with apples, which only made him think about Eliza.

"Yeah, yeah…whatever." Emerson couldn't care less about Ned's feelings. For all he knew the Pie Maker didn't care about her at all. He reached over and grabbed the microphone off of the Pie Maker's shirt, not noticing the dirty look that Ned shot him. "So did she give you any clues as to who might have done it?"

"No… As far as she knew he didn't have another girlfriend. I was going to ask her, but she got all defensive and she wouldn't talk about it anymore." Ned wanted nothing more that for them to go away. He thought that after the apple pie he would go upstairs and clean his apartment again.

"Is that why she left?" Olive hadn't really been listening, but imagining taking the Pie Maker to her apartment and comforting him with a romantic movie and some hot chocolate. She could even smell the chocolate wafting up from her mug. "You were asking too many questions?"

"Um… No…" Ned looked at Olive strangely, who tried to look attentive back. After the pause he went back to his apple pastry. "She thought, well… She thought that the only reason I'd asked her to come was to question her, but before I could explain that she was out the door and in the street. She even forgot her book…" He looked at the recipe book next to Olive. He walked over to pick it up, but Olive thought he was coming in for a hug. She flung her arms out and embraced the tall man, who raised his hands as though he was being hugged by something dirty. Emerson rolled his eyes in the corner and he pulled out his notepad.

"Oh Ned. I'm sorry that your date didn't work out." Ned pushed the nosy waitress off of him, but this didn't dampen Olive's spirits. He walked around her and picked up the book. It had been read only a few times and he noticed that she had the Apple Rhubarb recipe bookmarked. He flipped it open and saw that she had written some notes down the sides of the recipe as well.

"It was just a baking lesson…" He put the book up on a safe shelf and went back to his pies. He was about to ask Olive and Emerson to scoot, when he thought of something else.

"Why were you two hanging around in that alley?"


End file.
